Burgundy owns and operates the Ekati Diamond Mine. Ekati is in the Lac de Gras region of the Northwest Territories of Canada, approximately 300 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife.
Production at Ekati began officially in October 1998, following five years of extensive evaluation and development. Exploration programs date back to 1981 and led to the discovery of the Point Lake kimberlite in 1991 and Canada’s greatest staking rush. There are two active mining operations at Ekati, Point Lake open pit and the Misery Underground mine. Mining activities are conducted year-round.
The Misery pipe was initially mined as an open pit and produced over 27 million carats including special highly sought-after fancy yellow stones. The mine was converted to an underground operation in 2019 and achieved commercial production in 2021. The underground operation utilizes a sublevel retreat mining method at a nominal mining rate of 3,000 tons per day (tpd) providing 2,750 tpd of ore to the process plant. Ore and waste are hauled from the underground utilizing AD30 haul trucks and two ramp portals to the surface of the previously operating Misery open pit. Ore is further hauled to surface utilizing CAT 740 haul trucks.
“Ekati” in Tłı̨chǫ means Fat Lake. The Tłı̨chǫ people are a Dene First Nations people and one of the traditional land users in proximity to the mine site(“Ekati Mine,” n.d.).
Venturing deep into the Canadian Arctic to unearth dazzling gems! The Ekati Diamond Mine isn’t just about diamonds; it’s a story of pioneering spirit and challenging environments. What aspect of remote, high-latitude mining do you find most impressive? Share your insights!
